Best versions of Daphne in Scooby-Doo

The Scooby-Doo franchise is one of the longest-running animated franchises of all time. Not only has the Mystery Incorporated Gang seen 13 television shows, but also nearly fifty movies released over the past half century. Scooby and Shaggy often take center stage in individual storylines throughout these adventures, but Daphne Blake has also amassed her own massive fan base.

While Daphne has seen many forms and been played by many actresses since her original appearances in the late 60s, there are certain versions and subplots of Daphne that have worked better than others.

Updated November 5, 2024 by Chris Harkin: The Scooby-Doo franchise continues with no regard for anything other than having constant fun and success in various mediums. It can be hard for fans to believe how many versions there are of Scooby himself and his Mystery Inc friends. Daphne Blake remains an iconic character in her own right and has managed to travel from animation to live-action and into both games and comics without hesitation and without losing any of the appeal her no-nonsense attitude gives the Mystery Inc gang. With Daphne and all these characters finding new life around every corner, there will likely be further updates on her various changes in the future.

9 Girl boss Daphne

Surf, design swimwear and catch bad guys like a boss

• Appeared in Aloha, Scooby-Doo!
• Appeared in 2005

Daphne often has something going on Scooby-Doo films, and the variety of things she has accomplished is truly impressive. But one of the most mundanely awesome of the lot is inside Hello, Scooby-Doo when the gang went to Hawaii to help the locals, who wanted Daphne to design a line of swimwear for them.

When a monster appeared to be disrupting the island's surfing competition, Daphne even bravely participated, showing off her surfing skills while using herself as bait to lure the monster out and capture them. This version of Daphne was a laid back badass and her own boss, brave and strong and had a great business acumen.

8 Buffy Daphne

The Ass-Kicking Live-Action Badass Who Changed Daphne Forever

• Appeared in Scooby-Doo & Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed
• Performed 2002-2004

The list of the best versions of Daphne must include Sarah Michelle Gellar. 2002 Scooby-Doo film is one of the few truly good examples of live-action casting for an animated property. Whole Scooby-Doo the gang was brought to the screen flawlessly, and Daphne was no exception as Gellar took the role and made it her own.

The traditional view of Daphne as a damsel in distress was completely blown away by Gellar's take, which saw the character learn karate and kick some ass on her own. This Buffy style of the character was a genius way to bring the character into the 21st century.

7 Reporter Daphne

Not a fighter, but an independent responsible woman

• Appeared in Scooby-Doo on Zombie Island
• Appeared in 1998

One of the early ones Scooby-Doo movies saw Daphne in a different role that made a lot of sense. When the gang went to a mysterious island that turned out to be infested with zombies, it was with Daphne, who ran and hosted a successful TV show, looking for a new scoop from the strange inhabitants.

This Daphne had her own drive and was even the one to lead the gang into this adventure. It was great to see her take charge and seek out the mystery. She was even Fred's boss, as he worked on her show as a cameraman, giving her an element of control in the group that she had often lacked up to that point.

6 Pilot Daphne

Learn new skills while looking amazing

• Appeared in Scooby-Doo! Moon Monster Madness
• Appeared in 2015

Daphne's journey in Moon Monster Madness is a bit different, but the character's development and the journey she goes through is both important and fun. At the beginning of the film, Daphne fails a driving test and regrets her attempts to finally gain independence.

But after Scooby and Shaggy win a trip to space, Daphne learns how to do many surprising new things as an astronaut and finds herself at odds with Velma, who expects her to be the better astronaut. All of this ends with Daphne and Velma's relationship being further confirmed, and Daphne figuring out how to pass her driving test.

5 Leader Daphne

The first time Daphne took charge

• Appeared in The 13 Ghosts Of Scooby-Doo
• Appeared in 1985

The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo was a weird show. All of a sudden, Velma and Fred had been abandoned, and later rejoined to work that summer, while Daphne's plan went off course, ending up with her, Scooby, Shaggy, and Scrappy in the Himalayas.

The gang was switched around a lot in this show, and Daphne most of all when she suddenly embodied the roles of herself, Fred, and a bit of Velma. It was a huge lead role for her and an impressive character arc, to be resumed in Scooby-Doo and the Curse of the 13th Ghost with Fred and Velma on the trip this time.

4 Daphne the clown

To become something completely different to solve a mystery

• Appeared in Big Top Scooby-Doo!
• Appeared in 2012

Big Top Scooby-Doo was the final film where the gang finally took on a werewolf. This happened while they were going undercover as part of a circus trying to find out the identity of the werewolf that was trying to scare everyone away. As such, the gang learned all the circus acts and Daphne began training as a clown.

Daphne, a character who is always obsessed with her appearance, becoming a clown and learning to work in completely different circumstances was not the easiest of times. She also had to break down the hardened, jaded other clowns in the circus and ended up befriending them. It was a very different moment in Daphne's story from the norm.

3 Finally Daphne & Fred

A long-awaited, adorable encounter

• Appeared in Scooby-Doo! Stage fright
• Appeared in 2013

The will they/won't they relationship between Daphne and Fred has long been a source of interest Scooby-Doo viewers. Sometimes the two are together, sometimes they are teased when they meet, but often they don't seem to be with each other at all even though it makes a lot of sense.

Scooby-Doo stage fright is a rare occasion when the audience is treated to finally meeting after such a long wait. The duo are part of a talent show where they will sing together, while the gang tries to pull out a phantom. Throughout the film, they are both thinking about themselves as they try to figure out how to ask the other out, and they end up together in the film's climax.

2 Apocalyptic warrior Daphne

Something completely different that has to be seen to be believed

• Appeared in Scooby Apocalypse
• Shown from 2016-2019

There are few times that the Scooby gang has gotten into as big of a mess as they did in the DC Comics series Scooby Apocalypsewith the gang in a post-apocalyptic setting where the entire world has been infected and turned into mutated creatures that the gang must fend off, giving Daphne a major overhaul as a character.

The crazy stories told when humanity is overtaken and the gang tries to help were shocking, and the things Daphne had to do were terrifying, including dealing with the loss of Fred. But through it all, she proved once and for all that Daphne is the strongest member of the gang and a natural born survivor.

1 Existential crisis Daphne

To see how far she had come from the original

• Appeared in Scooby-Doo And The Cyber ​​Chase
• Appeared in 2001

One of the best versions of Daphne is when she was given the opportunity to confront the previous, original version of herself. IN Scooby-Doo and the Cyber ​​Huntthe gang meet their former selves in cyberspace and get to interact with the versions of themselves that started the original TV show, Scooby-Doo, where are you?

Daphne's simple version versus the more fleshed out and modernized character was great to see. It showed the past, the original versus the modern, and was a great movie. It was also one of the early direct-to-video films that provided a more mature version of Daphne as a character.